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Sunday, February 2, 2014

The layout benchwork rebuilding program is now ongoing. The
part located in the furnace closet was streamlined as much as possible to get
an easier acces to electronic devices. Anyway, this part ouf the layout only
held a 2-track staging to hold locomotives. This part of the layout has a small
0,5% grade to make up for the 1/2 inch higher track level between the two layout
room.

I tested the track location of the new yard. Looks like my
XtrakCAD drawing was quite accurate, which is a good thing. The track in the
foreground is about 3 inches from the fascia. I contemplated the idea how
adding an extra 2" x 3" lumber to widen it a bit for an access road
but I’m not so sure anymore. I would need to lenghten the highway overpass
which is something I don’t want to do.

I also built a quick mockup of Lairet Station with foamcore
to get a better idea of the scene at Canardière Road. Honestly, the scene will
be visually more interesting than I first envisionned it. It must be cause it’s
a two-level station.

Finally, we started planning the benchwork modification for
Canardière Road. The overpass will be an accurate rendition (except the road
angle) of the real thing. Unfortunately, I discovered XtrakCAD Peco #7 curved
turnout isn’t an exact replica of the actual item. It means the drawing is
relatively useless to figure things out. I had to redo everything wth the real
tracks which have a smaller radius than the nominal one. No big deal, however
it’s a waste of time I didn’t planned. Canardière is definitely going to be a
big challenge and we don’t have any spare room to fail because this is among
the most iconic railway overpass in all Quebec City. That overpass was built
during the 1930s economic crisis to provide work. It’s a pretty neat piece of
simplified Art Déco. The abutments can hold up to 6 tracks but the overpass was
build for three only. I suspect CN had plan to extend Limoilou yard northward
if needed.

Here are some old time pictures of Canardière Road and Lairet Station found on a Facebook group
dedicated to Limoilou from the past. Lots of good stuff there helping me to
understand the little details like roads, bridges, sidewalks, telephone poles,
buildings and advertising billboards. I suspect Coca-Cola did a lot of money
out of that borough! They ads were everywhere, almost like a total
brainwashing! I own none of those pictures and will delete them upon request
from respective owners. I thanks the people who posted these invaluable sources
of information.

Looking West from the CN overpass

Looking at the overpass from the West

Looking at the overpass from the East, Lairet Station is at left (under the smokestack)

Lairet Station in the 1970s with huge car dealer advertising. Limoilou yard is behind, on a 10ft high fill.

I also received a 89’ Atlas CP Rail flatcar. Very nice all
metal car. Runs smooth as silk and will be helpful to set clearances on the
layout! I also got a True Line 8 hatches CN reefer in aluminium. I was quite
surprised to receive a second shell painted in the correct color (the factory
messed up the color, painting them in grey instead of aluminium). I’m planning
to repaint the wrong color shell and scratchbuilt a new underframe to get a
second one. It will help lower the purchase cost.

About The Club

Our layout is about capturing small-time branchline railroading in Eastern Canada during the early 80s. Built by three modellers, this HO layout is mainly dedicated to the Old Capital former CN Murray Bay Subdivision linking together Quebec City, Montmorency & Charlevoix counties. We also share an interest in its former constituant railways including Canadian National Railway (CNR) and Quebec Railway Light & Power Co. (QRL&PCo).

The original founding crew, still in active service since February 2007, is made of Louis-Marie Huot (Provincial Government Official), Matthieu Lachance (Architect, O.A.Q.) and Jérôme Langlois-Lavoie (real-life Locomotive Engineer). Many fellow "brakemen" assist the group on an irregular basis.

A special thanks goes to the late Mr. Jean-Pierre Veilleux (†2016) who was a precious source of historic facts and a dedicated railfan since the early 50s onward.